Preparation of chitosan-based composites with urethane cross linkage and evaluation of their properties for using as wound healing dressing

•Chitosan based composites were prepared using solution casting method.•Sample with CS (50 %), PVA (30 %) and PVP (20 %) had the highest mechanical properties.•Low contact angle values revealed the hydrophilicity of the prepared films.•Samples A3 had remarkable activity against two common causes of wound infections.•These composites could be potentially used for the synthesis of wound dressing. In this research, biocomposite films containing chitosan (CS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), with different ratios, have been provided. The effects of adding hexamethylene 1, 6-di(aminocarboxysulfonate) (HMDACS) as cross-linking agent and the formation of urethane linkage on mechanical properties such as tensile strength, elongation and dynamic-mechanical properties such as storage modulus and tan δ were studied. Also, the antibacterial properties of the composites were investigated by viable bacterial cell counting and compared in reducing the bacterial growth. The final results showed the composite containing CS (50 wt%), PVA (30 wt%), PVP (20 wt%) and HMDACS (2 wt%) had the highest mechanical properties. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs confirmed uniform distribution of components in the polymer matrix. In general, low contact angle values revealed the hydrophilicity of the prepared films. It was found that the composites made by combining CS, PVA and PVP at concentration of 50, 25, 25 wt% (A3) and 60, 20, 20 wt% (B4), cross-linked with 2 wt% HMDACS, had the best antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, hence they can be used as promising materials for the preparation of wound dressings.